Doctor of Social Work Curriculum
Fall and Spring courses are eight weeks. Summer courses are six weeks. Students complete both a teaching practicum and leadership practicum as part of their coursework. All students must pass a qualifying assessment before proceeding to the capstone project (6 credit hours) that is completed in the third year of the program. Practicums occur across all semesters.
Total credit hours required are 44.
Program Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Courses | ||
| Fall | ||
| SW 730 | Social Service Leadership and Teaching & Learning: History, Philosophy & Current Practices | 3 |
| SW 731 | Ethics, Equity, and Social Justice: Theory and Practice | 3 |
| Spring | ||
| SW 774 | Implementation Science, Program Development, & Administration | 3 |
| SW 775 | Continuous Quality Improvement, Data Driven Decision-Making, and Evidence Based Practice and Management | 3 |
| Summer | ||
| SW 776 | Research Methods | 3 |
| SW 735 | Program Evaluation | 3 |
| Fall | ||
| SW 736 | Applied Social Service Leadership, Management & Practice | 4 |
| SW 737 | Program Planning, Finance, & Budgets | 3 |
| Spring | ||
| SW 738 Social Work Teaching & Learning: Theories, Methods & Assessment | 4 | |
| SW 739 Teaching in Social Work: Course Design, Instruction & Evaluation | 3 | |
| Summer | ||
| SW 740 Policy Analysis & Advocacy: Contemporary Issues | 3 | |
| SW 777 Integrative Seminar & Qualifying Assessment | 3 | |
| Fall | ||
| SW 778 Capstone project | 3 | |
| Spring | ||
| SW 778 Capstone project | 3 | |
| Minimum Total Hours | 44 | |
Practicum Experiences
Students complete two practicum experiences. In the fall semester of the second year, students complete a leadership practicum concurrently with Applied Social Service Leadership, Management & Practice. In the spring semester of the second year, students complete a teaching practicum concurrently with Social Work Teaching & Learning: Theories, Methods & Assessment.
Graduation Requirements
- Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 at program completion
- Successful completion of all courses in the curriculum plan
- Proficiency rating of at least 85% on the qualifying assessment
- Successful defense of a capstone project
- Completion of all school and university requirements for awarding of the degree
- Completion of the program within four years from the time of passing the qualifying assessment
Doctoral Qualifying Assessment
The qualifying assessment allows students to demonstrate their abilities to apply and integrate their skills and readiness to address complex issues within capstone projects. After successfully completing the qualifying assessment, students are admitted to candidacy status.
Doctoral Capstone Project
After admission to candidacy, students complete an original capstone project under the supervision of a faculty mentor and three other faculty members (one of which is from outside the school of social work). Students will defend their capstone project.